After Several Months of His Children's Arrest; Deputy Chief Justice Resigns

After several months since the news of "abuse and economic corruption" was published, Mohammad Mosaddegh Kohanmoei, the Deputy Chief Justice, resigned today. Mosaddegh claimed that this resignation request was to eliminate any suspicion of "influence in the case of his children." The media center of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic announced on Wednesday that the resignation request of Mohammad Mosaddegh was accepted by Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the Chief Justice. In parts of the news published by the judiciary, quoting the Chief Justice, it was stated that "the judiciary must seriously confront corruption in all areas and structures without discrimination and negligence." This decision was made after a case was formed in which the defendants included two of Mosaddegh's sons, accused of exerting influence in some judicial cases. The media center of the judiciary claimed that "this resigning official" had "no contact with any of the individuals related to the case, including judges of the prosecutor's office and court" since the beginning of the formation of the case against his children. According to the Chief Justice, although Mosaddegh "has had no involvement or influence in the handling of the mentioned case and will not have it," his resignation request is accepted. The news of the arrest of Mohammad Mosaddegh Kohanmoei's children was first revealed in the program "Last Page" of Voice of America until Masoud Setayesh, the spokesman for the judiciary, announced in his press conference in October of this year, without mentioning names, about the arrest of "two children of one of the judiciary officials." Media in Iran confirmed on October 2 the arrest of two children of the Deputy Chief Justice following "abuse and economic corruption," which had intensified speculation in the days prior. According to the Tasnim news agency, affiliated with security institutions, at that time, the two children of the Deputy Chief Justice were arrested during the investigation of a case involving an individual named "Rostami Safa," who was referred to as "one of the major bank debtors." The children of Mohammad Mosaddegh Kohanmoei were arrested while he has had a significant presence in the judiciary over the past decade as "the Deputy Chief Prosecutor during the presidency of Sadegh Larijani, the legal advisor to the Chief Justice, and the head of the Administrative Justice Court during the presidency of Ebrahim Raisi in the judiciary." Damon Mohammadi, an analyst, previously told Voice of America about the disclosure of financial corruption reports in the Islamic Republic that embezzlements can occur in the banking system when "the path of golden signatures and extralegal orders" is opened, and it has been observed that "these embezzlements have always been revealed during disputes between power blocs."